Buy American Sweet Gum Trees - Liquidambar styraciflua - Red Gum

Ashridge Trees Limited
Registered Office: Grove Cross Barn,
Castle Cary,
Somerset BA7 7NJ

Sweet Gum / Alligator Tree - Liquidambar styraciflua

One of autumn's highlights, Liquidambar styraciflua looks gorgeous at any time of year. The rich brown young bark is unusually textured with corky scales and becomes ridged as it ages, giving it the common name Alligator Tree. Its other name, Sweet Gum, refers to the resin that is emitted when the tree is damaged, which is called styrax and has a pleasant odour. The star shaped foliage is a lush, glossy green in summer but the real surprise comes in autumn, when a stunning range of glowing reds and oranges engulfs the tree - it gets another name, the Red Gum tree, from this display. If you collect some fallen leaves, you will notice that they have kept the sweet aroma of the gum and a bundle of them in the garden shed will smell good for several weeks. Liquidambar styraciflua has very distinctive flowers in April-May, with yellow-green piles of male buds from which dangle whitish female flowers - these do tend to be hidden by the emerging leaves, however, so you may appreciate them best as cuttings in a vase. The female part matures into an outlandish seed ball that is covered in inward curling spines - you may well have seen them used in an ornamental pot-pourri. These decorate the tree well into winter and some birds will benefit from the seeds, if they can work out how to get at them. Top Tip: If you are having trouble with dogs and cats invading your flower beds, try covering them with a mulch of these prickly seed cases. The tree's heartwood is called satin walnut; it can be given an excellent polish and because it is also quite light, it is often used for making furniture. Sweet Gum Trees can grow to be quite big and need some space, though they won't reach their full size in the British climate.
Liquidambar styraciflua: Planting, Pruning and Caring for Your Trees:

Alligator Trees come from hot, swampy terrain and while they are hardy enough to be grown in urban areas throughout Britain (which are always slightly warmer than the countryside), they may struggle in exposed sites in the North, where late frosts can kill off the young leaves. They can also be reluctant to flower in colder regions, though this does mean that there won't be any seed cases for you to clean up. They like moist or wet soil, though they will survive in drier earth if it is rich enough, they are watered for their first couple of summers and given a bit of mulch every year to help preserve moisture. Liquidambar styraciflua will not tolerate alkaline or chalky soil and should only be planted in acid or neutral pH earth. It loves sun and we advise against planting it in anything more than very light shade. In Britain, a Sweet Gum Tree should not grow more than about 30 metres, 100 feet, but in its hot and humid native marshland it can be half as tall again.

Important Note: These trees hate having their roots disturbed. Your trees will come with a ball of earth around the roots to protect them - do not try to open it or loosen the roots in any way. It is always best to plant any type of tree as soon as possible after receiving them and this is especially true of Liquidambar. Sit the rootball in some water for half an hour before planting and then get it in the ground without delay. If it doesn't rain hard, aim to give the ground around it a thorough soaking once a week.

Registered in: England, Company number 04877186
VAT Reg: GB821334463
EC Plant Passport UK/14413

Contact Information

Phone: +44 (0) 1963 359444
Fax: +44 (0) 1963 359445
Email: support@ashridgetrees.co.uk

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